Our print publications are advertiser supported. For those wishing to access our content online, we have implemented a small charge so we may continue to provide our valued readers and community with unique, high quality local content. Thank you for supporting your local newspaper.

Crime and courts

Woman accused of hitting cop with car suspected in rash of crimes

The woman accused of hitting a Littleton police officer with a stolen car in June had been arrested in connection with or suspected of crimes in three incidents earlier in the year, police and court records show.

Jane Marie Bixby, 21, is facing a slew of charges in four counties and has a flurry of court dates scheduled for next month.

She is being held in the Adams County jail on bonds totaling more than $60,000, after a sixth-month stretch that saw her arrested and bonded out of jail multiple times, before culminating in her suspected participation in a late-night robbery of a Westminster cell phone store and police chase, according to Westminster police.

Michael Hronick, the Littleton officer Bixby is suspected of hitting with a stolen car in front of the Dollar Tree at 2819 W. Belleview Ave. on June 28, was ruled justified in firing his gun while being struck by the vehicle after a review by the 18th Judicial District's Critical Response Team, said Littleton Police Department spokesman Cmdr. Trent Cooper. The report was withheld by the district attorney's office pending the outcome of the case. No one was hit by gunfire during the incident.

“The district attorney said our officer acted lawfully in defending himself,” Cooper said. “Our officer did suffer some injuries. He recovered fully, and he's back working in the patrol division. We're glad about that.”

Charges abound

Officials are largely mum on the allegations against Bixby as the cases proceed through the justice system, but court records and arrest affidavits paint a picture of Bixby allegedly committing or participating in a swirl of crimes across the metro area.

The first record details a haywire scene the evening of Feb. 22 outside the Panorama Motel on Sheridan Boulevard in Lakewood, where according to an arrest affidavit, Bixby and a boyfriend arrived to pick up Bixby's then-5-year-old son from the boy's father. An argument followed that drew the attention of several of the boy's father's family members.

In the ensuing melee, Bixby's boyfriend allegedly pistol-whipped the mother of the boy's father, while Bixby allegedly threatened to shock several people with a stun gun.

Bixby and her boyfriend were arrested on their way home to Aurora, and Bixby's charges included child abuse, being an accessory to a felony and use of a stun gun.

Bixby was released after posting a $1,000 bond on Feb. 27.

Bixby's next arrest came on March 9, when Denver police say she was pulled over for driving erratically at Yale Avenue and I-25. Officers say they found methamphetamine and the hallucinogen LSD in the car. Bixby's charges included possession of a controlled substance.

Bixby was released after posting a $2,000 bond the next day.

Bixby was next a suspect in a crime in mid-June, when Lakewood police say she stole a vehicle from a man who gave her a ride to a liquor store. The man said Bixby, who was 20 at the time, drove off in his Jeep while he went inside to buy alcohol.

The car was found abandoned in Denver on June 21.

The man said he knew Bixby from Facebook as Maryjane Juarez. A post to the account from five days before the theft says “I really need a car hate asking for rides.” Police identified Bixby as a suspect based on Facebook pictures, but were unable to locate her. Bixby would eventually be charged with the theft, as well as eluding a police officer and driving under restraint following the Westminster robbery.

In Littleton

Bixby's suspected crime in Littleton took place on June 28, a week after the Jeep was recovered, according to Littleton police.

Bixby and the father of her son pulled into the parking lot of the Dollar Tree at 2819 W. Belleview Ave. in a Honda sedan a little past noon, according to an affidavit from Littleton police. While the father of Bixby's son was inside Dollar Tree, officer Hronick ran a check of the license plate on the Honda, which belonged to a different Honda reported stolen in Thornton.

Hronick called for backup, and once officers arrived, Hronick attempted to make contact with Bixby, who police say drove forward and hit Hronick.

Hronick fired his weapon as he was hit, and later investigation suggests the bullet hit the car's headlight.

The boy's father was detained inside the Dollar Tree. Bixby was arrested that afternoon at the Essex House Motel at 5390 S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton, where the couple had been living with their now 6-year-old son and another woman.

A search of Bixby's text messages showed that Bixby was allegedly involved in dealing methamphetamine, according to an affidavit.

Bixby was released after posting a $4,000 bond on July 20. She was arrested again on July 22 on charges relating to the February melee, and was released again on Aug. 4 after posting $5,000 bond.

Bixby's final arrest occurred in the early hours of Aug. 29, when she and four others smashed a stolen pickup truck through the front of a Boost Mobile cell phone store in Westminster, according to a Westminster police affidavit. Officers located the truck at 120th Avenue and Pecos Street shortly after the robbery, and engaged in a 19-minute chase that ended after an officer rammed a police car into the truck near 128th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.

Bixby, her sister and three others were arrested after a foot chase.

Bixby was charged with burglary, criminal mischief, trespassing with the intent to commit a crime, possession of burglary tools, criminal impersonation, violation of bail bond conditions, possession of a controlled substance, theft and violation of a protection order.

Bixby remains incarcerated in Adams County on bonds totaling $60,500. She is scheduled for an arraignment in Jefferson County on Jan. 2, an arraignment in Adams County on Jan. 3, a preliminary hearing in Arapahoe County on Jan. 10 and a status conference in Denver on Jan. 18.

With two boys in junior high, Rebecca Zamora is no stranger to the stress of back to school time. Zamora, who lives in Adams county, said she begins preparing her sons, Nicolas, who is entering sixth …

A U.S. District Court judge presiding over the case concerning the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge did not grant a preliminary injunction that would have blocked trail construction on the refuge …

Shelly Leuenberger temporarily left her love of playing beach volleyball behind when she moved with her family from California to Colorado. However, the Parker resident is playing volleyball again in …

A total of 121 junior dragsters drivers donned their equipment and waited in the lanes for their turns at the starting line during the Western Divisional Championship Race held Jan 22-23 at Bandimere …